Solar Week 3/3 - The Solar Deck

Directly beneath the solar panels lies the solar deck, which both supports the panels and provides structural reinforcement. The solar deck consists of a carbon structure to ensure a lightweight design, with additional perforations to further reduce weight.

As you may have already noticed, we're able to open and close the solar deck, and even fix it at an angle. This flexibility allows us to perform maintenance on the car and orient the solar panels towards the sun. This is particularly crucial during the morning and evening hours when the sun is low, ensuring we capture as much sunlight as possible. The mechanism facilitating this complex movement of opening and closing the deck is referred to as hatching. The arms and joints provided by norelem Normelemente GmbH & Co. KG, along with telescope bars, enable the deck to follow the coupling curve, allowing us to adjust and secure the solar deck at the optimal angle.

This marks the final post of our solar week series. It delves into technical aspects, and we hope you've gained some insights and enjoyed these nerdy posts! Within a single system, there are numerous elements enhancing efficiency. The pursuit of efficiency is what makes solar racing intriguing.